Friday, August 31, 2007

Endurance Race Traces Historic TrailSanta Fe, NM– Up to 100 teams of horseback riders are expected to take part in the first annual Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race Endurance Ride this September. The race will follow, as closely as possible, the route of the Santa Fe Trail, America's first commercial highway running from Franklin, Missouri to Santa Fe from 1821 to 1880.

The race begins on September 3 just outside Santa Fe, New Mexico and will end 13 days later just east of the Kansas border in Missouri; a riding distance of over 500 miles and a total distance of more than 800 miles. Each riding day will be 50 or 55 miles in length. There will be several rest days along the route when teams will move to new locations but without any riding being done.

Three types of teams will compete: The type 1 teams have one rider who rides one horse or a number of different horses throughout the event but can only ride one horse per day/leg. Type 2 teams have different riders for each day/leg, although the same rider and horse complete an entire day/leg, and a number of horses over the ride may be used. The Super Teams (limited to 10 teams) can have up to 4 riders and 4 horses compete in each leg of the race (this does not take into consideration the conserving of horses for future legs of the race).

Along the race route where the riders stop a Race Village will be established, made up of local merchants, vendors, support services, and various race sponsors. The Race Villages are intended to give local horse enthusiasts and spectators a chance to learn more about the Santa Fe Trail, find out about endurance horse racing, and see the racers, both human and equine, up close in a festive atmosphere.

As the namesake and western terminus of the trail, Santa Fe will host the teams and race organizers beginning September 1, 2007 at the first Race Village. All 100 teams will gather at the Santa Fe Downs just south of the city to prepare for the start from Lamy, N.M. just outside of Santa Fe. The race will remain in New Mexico for 3 days of riding and 3 nights before moving into Kansas.

The race itself is sanctioned by the American Endurance Ride Conference and all horses will be under veterinary supervision and care along the entire length of the route. For more information contact Race Organizer, Rob Phillips, 785-218-3265, sfthorserace@aol.com, www.sfthorserace.com

For a complete list of events check the Santa Fe Convention & Visitors Bureau's web site at http://www.santafe.org or contact the bureau for a free Santa Fe Visitors Guide, 800-777-2489.

There was a touch of pageantry fit for a King at the launch of the Sultan’s Cup Terengganu Endurance Challenge 2007 as the organisers used a delightful little pageant to launch the event. It told the story of how the Sultan’s Cup Challenge had been conceived and the challenge made to the rest of the world. The call has truly gone out to all corners of the world to find the best endurance horse and rider. With the 2008 World Endurance Championships set to be held in Terengganu, the best in the world are taking up the challenge from this November. Participants from sixteen countries will take part in this CEI 3-Star ride over 160 km. The riders and their horses are expected from Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Qatar, UAE, USA and Malaysia. They will start to arrive in October and will have a month’s acclimatisation before the event on 9th to 11 November.

Twenty-five foreign participants and fifteen Malaysians are expected to take part in the 160 km event. The horses will arrive at KLIA on specially chartered and commercial flights and will be transported to Terengganu by the Royal Malaysian Air Force. The event serves as second trial for the FEI World Endurance Championships which will be held in November 2008. The FEI requires a completion rate of 40% at this event. The organisers realize that Malaysia is facing some international pressure to have the WEC2008 to be held in another country. Nevertheless they are confident of achieving the required completion rate to satisfy the FEI. With an average speed of just 10 km/h, they should be quite safe. The Sultan’s Cup in 2006, also over 160 km saw a completion rate of 57% of an entirely local field. Facilities are being upgraded at the Terengganu International Endurance Park (TIEP) including infrastructure for a full veterinary hospital with surgery facilities, under the direction of Dr Balakrishna Polanaidu. YBhg Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Nor, Vice-Chairman of Yayasan DiRaja Sultan Mizan (YDSM) voiced a hope that “through our efforts to organise world class equestrian events like the Sultan’s Cup Terengganu Endurance Challenge and the continued growing interest in the sport, we can ignite a love and interest in horses.”

His Majesty, already a World Class endurance rider who has already earned the first part of the required Certificate of Capability to compete in next year’s WEC, will be competing and hoping for another CoC finish. Other VIP guests who attended the event this morning were Yang Teramat Mulia Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra ibni Sultan Ismail Petra, who is the Tengku Mahkota of Kelantan and Y.A.B. Dato’ Seri Hj Idris Jusoh, Menteri Besar of Terengganu.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

The Sydney International Three-Day Event has been cancelled because of the equine influenza outbreak in Australia.

The event - an important Olympic qualifying event - was to be run at Sydney's Horsley Park from 13 to 16 September. But organisers today announced that the event was not to go ahead. Event Director, Rose Read said today that given the state of the equine flu outbreak "it would be impractical for all involved to delay the decision any longer."

"The event is an important stepping stone for individual riders and horses qualifying for the 2008 Olympics and the committee will be working closely with the Equestrian Federation of Australia, riders, sponsors and supporters to explore future opportunities to run this important qualifying event as soon as the equine flu outbreak is under control.

"On a more positive note I am pleased to advise that the construction works on the cross-country course scheduled for the event will proceed as planned. It is important that the future of our sport is not compromised and that the event is ready to run at short notice when the opportunity arises," she said.

The event was set to host more than 160 horses competing in the three-day event, along with the Asian-Pacific Challenge Trophy, in which 18 riders from India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand were competing as well as an Invitational Grand Prix Dressage Exhibition Event.

"We are very lucky to have such committed sponsors and greatly appreciate their unwavering support," Read said.

Entry fees and other payments received will be refunded.

• The annual Shahzada endurance ride in St Albans, New South Wales, was called off at the weekend, and horses are stuck at the venue.

NSW's Department of Primary Industries revoked movement permits which meant the horses would have left the venue today.[More ...]

John Crandell, riding Heraldic, repeated their 2006 feat by finishing first in the 2007 AERC National Championship 100 Mile race. The event, held in the Owyhee Country of Southern Idaho, highlighted a 5 day Festival of Endurance in North America. Reason To Believe, ridden by Cheryl Dell, was awarded Best Condition for the 100 mile event.

The 55 Mile distance was won by BoB Steller riding Majestic Star. Best Condition for the 55 was awarded to HCR Jotyr ridden by Heather Reynolds. The Thursday running of the 55 provided insights to the 100 milers who shared that same 55 mile course on Saturday. Many of those riders crewed and volunteered during the 55 mile event, sharing the day and the insights of those on the trail.

Educational sessions in Competition, Management, and Training were also provided to all who attended the event. The APEX clinic and Moving On Up clinics were very well received. Endurance Riding/Racing in North America were showcased for all!

Sunday, August 26, 2007

THOUSANDS of people were either unaware of the equine flu outbreak or thought it affected only the racing industry and were moving horses around the state, possibly spreading the disease, by the time authorities issued a nationwide ban on movement.

On Saturday, Federal and state governments declared an emergency standstill of all horses after 11 cases of the highly contagious equestrian influenza were detected at Centennial Park, and one at Eastern Creek in a stallion which had travelled from Japan.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 16 (Bernama) -- Twenty-five professional riders from 15 countries have confirmed participation in the fourth edition of the Sultan's Cup Terengganu Endurance Challenge 2007 at the Terengganu International Endurance Park in Setiu on November 9-11.

The 15 Malaysian riders will be led by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, who is the patron of the event.

"The Sultan's Cup Terengganu Endurance Challenge will be the official trial event for the FEI (International Equestrian Federation) World Endurance Championship next year.

"The fourth edition will be our second trial event. The first trial was in November last year, where we first organised the 160km race. It was one of the most successful rides with a completion rate of 57 percent," vice-chairman of the Sultan Mizan Royal Foundation, Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Mohd Nor said Thursday.

He was speaking to reporters after the championship official launch which was graced by Tuanku Mizan here today. Also present was Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah.

"To qualify for this endurance ride, a rider must complete a 160km race sanctioned by the FEI at least once. This is not an open championship as the riders are here on invitation.

"We received applications from various parties but we have to reject them as we have to determine that they have FEI qualification," said Dr Salleh.

The Sultan's Cup comprises of seven loops with a total distance of 160km. Each of the competing horse must meet the veterinary assessment before the horse is allowed to proceed to the next loop.

Besides Malaysia, the other participating countries are Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and the United States of America.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is set to host the FEI World Equestrian Championship (WEC) for the first time.

The event would be held at the Terengganu International Endurance Park (TIEP) in Setiu next year.

With the inaugural Sultan's Cup Terengganu Endurance Challenge at Lembah Bidong last year under their belt, event organisers Yayasan DiRaja Sultan Mizan are confident that they would meet the technical requirements of the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) in hosting the WEC.

The Sultan's Cup Terengganu Endurance Challenge 2006 and 2007 were official trial events for the WEC.

Yayasan DiRaja Sultan Mizan vice-chairman Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Mohd Nor said that to get the licence to host the WEC, they needed to host two trial events with a minimum completion rate of 40% of the participating field.

"We had a completion rate of 57% in last year's competition and we are confident of surpassing the mark this year," Dr Salleh said at a press conference after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin launched the second Sultan's Cup Terengganu Endurance Challenge at the Palace of the Golden Horses Thursday.

Some 40 local and international riders from 16 participating countries will be competing in the second Sultan's Cup Terengganu Endurance Challenge 2007, which will be held at the newly upgraded TIEP in Setiu from Nov 9-11 this year.

Monday, August 13, 2007

photo: Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Al Maktoum, defending individual champion, will be leading the UAE's campaign along with his brothers Shaikh Rashid, Shaikh Ahmad, Shaikh Mayed in the European Open, to be held in Portugal on September 8."

By M. Satya Narayan, Staff ReporterPublished: August 13, 2007, 22:48

Abu Dhabi: With His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, having named a strong team of UAE riders for the European Open Endurance Championship, the horses too are being primed for the prestigious championship.

Speaking to Gulf News from Newmarket, Esmaeel Mohammad, trainer of endurance horses for Shaikh Mohammad, said 12 horses have been nominated to partner the champion UAE riders, who are a dominant force in the sport of endurance, at the European Open Championship to be held in Portugal on September 8.

"We have entered 12 horses, though we had quite a few more horses that had qualified for the championship," Ismaeel said.

"Out of these 12 six runners and a spare horse will be named a week before the championship.

Shaikh Rashid is the current Asian Games gold medallist, while Shaikh Hamdan is the defending champion and Shaikh Ahmad a former world champion.

Together with Shaikh Mayed they also won the Asian Games team gold and quite a few other international rides. Shaikh Abdullah Al Qasimi finished third in the World Junior Championship, while Sultan Bin Sulayem won the bronze medal in the Asian Games in Qatar.

Strong contenders

Four riders will make it as the team members, while a further two will take a shot at individual honours.

The UAE will be starting off as strong contenders, though other Gulf riders from Qatar and Bahrain - along with the traditional European endurance powers France, Spain, Italy and hosts Portugal - will all pose a strong challenge.

"We moved most of our horses immediately after the UAE season ended in April and we have been training them here at our Newmarket base for over four months," said Esmaeel, who has trained most of the UAE horses that have won at international rides.

"The horses have taken part in three rides here in the UK and we will be moving the championship horses to Portugal about five days before the event," added Esmaeel.

Saturday August 11 2007 KREUTH RIDE

A cool gray misty morning greeted 21 riders on the 160 km at 5 AM, and 18 senior riders and 28 Junior riders on the 120 km at 6 AM, 23 riders on the 80 km (3 Juniors) at 7 AM, 11 riders on the 60 km at 8 AM, and also 12 riders on a 39 km ride ? enough to keep any of the veterinarians and stewards very busy!

Despite the fact that the German Championships were held just 2 weeks earlier, it was a large turnout of riders for the Kreuth Endurance ride, part of the 10th Show and Sportevent for Arabian Horses, put on by the ZSAA, the German National Breeding Association. Riders from 13 countries, and multiple champions from many countries showed up for the rides, including Italian Fausto Fiorucci (2001 European Champion), Frenchwoman Barbara Lissarague (2005 World Champion), Netherlands rider Carmen Romer (2007 Junior European Champion), Netherlands rider Yvonne Van Der Velde (2007 Dutch Champion), German Klaudia Al Samarraie (2007 German Endurance Champion, and wife of organizer Achmed Al Samarraie), and multiple German Junior Champion Annette Schwartze. (And I expect I probably left some champions out!)

Some riders to watch on Saturday include three Omanis riding horses from Jutta Schultheis's stable: Prince Loay bin Ghalib Al Said in the 160 km, his younger brother Prince Khalid bin Ghalib Al Said in the 120 km Jr ride, and Prince Ahmed bin Ghalib Al Said in the 60 km. Not because they are Princes, but because Prince Loay is riding one stunner of an Anglo Arabian horse, a gelding named Hedgard.

Monday, August 06, 2007

Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Sunday named the members of the UAE team who will take part in the European Open Endurance Championship.

UAE riders with outstanding international achievements were selected for the championship, to be held in Lisbon, Portugal early next month.

The team is headed by four of Shaikh Mohammad's sons - Shaikh Rashid, Shaikh Hamdan, Shaikh Ahmad and Shaikh Mayed.

Gulf News Raed Mahmood of Bahrain Royal Endurance team placed fourth in the 160km category of the Second Thetford Endurance Race in England, while his teammate, Shaikh Daij bin Salman Al Khalifa, withdrew from the 120km race due to injuries suffered by his horse in the third stage of the race. More than 30 riders took part in the 160km race. Shaikh Daij finished the 40km first stage in 14th place riding his horse LIBERTE with a time of 2 house, 14 minutes and 02 seconds.

First place was won by UAE's Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum with a time of 1:54:45.

The 25km second stage saw Shaikh Daij jump into the ninth place with a time of 3:42:12 and Shaikh Hamdan remain on top of the race.

In the third stage, Shaikh Daij withdrew after his horse was injured. UAE's riders also pulled out for the same reason.

Raed placed seventh in the 40km first stage of the 160km race with a time of 2:25:08, while UAE rider Mubarak bin Shafya finished first at 2:10:21.

Raed jumped to fifth in the 40km second stage with a time of 4:34:16, as Mubarak remained on top with a time of 4:16:56.

In the 25km third stage, Raed remained in fifth place with a time of 6:06:56, and Mubarak remained on top at 4:34:16.

The 16km fourth stage saw Raed jump to fourth with a time of 7:24:07, and Mubarak remain on top.

Friday, August 03, 2007

The Unites States Equestrian Federation has announced the selection of 8 horse/rider combinations that will be examined by a Panel of three Veterinarians prior to identificaiton of the 6 member squad which will represent the United States at the upcoming FEI European Endurance Championship "Open Portugal" 2007 Qatar Challenge. The 8 horse/rider combinations will be examined by a Panel of three Veterinarians with these exams taking place at three locations across the country over the weekend of August 10-12. The 8 horse rider combinations (pending final approval) in alphabetical order Are:

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Barharin Gulf Daily News articleKUWAIT Finance House - Bahrain (KFH) and Mena Telecom announced yesterday their sponsorship for Bahrain's Royal Endurance Team, captained by Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, for the European Endurance Championship in Portugal next month. The announcement was made at separate functions, attended by KFH executive manager and Mena Telecom vice-chairman and managing director Abdul Razak Jawahery and director of the media office and information centre of Shaikh Nasser Tawfiq Salehi.

Shaikh Nasser, who is the president of the Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation, expressed his thanks and appreciation for the support.

"KFH - Bahrain and Mena Telecom have always been able to lead the way in displaying support towards landmark sports events while contributing to the society," Shaikh Nasser said. "This strategy is completely in line with our goals and endeavours towards sports organisations and community development.

"It is our pleasure to once again join hands with KFH - Bahrain and Mena Telecom, and we look forward to further opportunities in the near future."

KFH-Bahrain general manager of Abdulhakeem Alkhayyat commented: "We have always taken the lead in identifying and promoting sports as a strategic focus of its corporate social responsibility programme.

"The championship is a significant event to promote the Kingdom of Bahrain, and acts as a key initiative in elevating such equestrian events to international standards.

"We are delighted to be associated with a ride of such calibre, and will continue to support activities that help raise the sporting profile of Bahrain, nationally and internationally."

The European championship is an event under the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), the sport's governing body. It is scheduled to take place on September 8.

Faisal Ismail of ar-Raudha Equine Center beat 10 other riders to finish first in the CEI 3 Star 160km Ride of the Edaran Endurance Classic 2007 at Terengganu International Endurance Park in Setie, Terengganu, the venue of the forthcoming World Endurance Championship 2008.